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Thursday, January 5, 2012

In October I took on the executive leadership role at the Central Coast Sculptors' Group. CCSG is an affiliated artist group at the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art. My main goal in taking on this position, is to invigorate the opportunities for art to be shown, and thus seen, in San Luis Obispo County. There are quite a few good venues already available here, but there are never enough.

Our very first project since I took on this new role is something we are calling "the Phantom Project." The idea here is to solicit the donation of vacant retail space in prime locations for temporary use as art galleries. A phantom gallery pops up for a month or so out of the retail inventory, then vanishes. Later, another phantom gallery pops up, either in the same space if it's available, or in another vacant store front elsewhere.

The shows will vary, but will always be nimble and light footed. They will come and go quickly. No year long preparations, no calls for entry 9 months in advance. The artists who participate will have to be flexible and will have to have work available to show on relatively short notice. The patrons of these shows will learn to expect surprises, both in timing and in location, and we will cultivate a sense of adventure as we go.

The first phantom show is scheduled to open on February 2 and run through March 2. It's open to all 2-D and 3-D media and will be juried at intake on January 28. Drop off your work in the morning, check back in the afternoon to see if it stays in the show.

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About Michael Reddell

I spent 10 years in the metal trades in Seattle, and 13 years as a technical writer in the Silicon Valley prior to making the leap to the full time pursuit of art.
Throughout that time I was raising 3 kids and hanging around the margins of the art
world, knowing all the while that art was where I belonged. In 2001 I began working with my wife on development of an artists’ retreat in San Luis Obispo county that we call Windhook. That work is ongoing, and consumes most of the time that I am
not in the studio.
In 2002, I left technical writing and the world of salaries and trading-life-for-money to entirely devote my time to the pursuit of my artistic vision and the Windhook
project. At times since then, my efforts have been consumed by Windhook planning
and construction tasks, and at times I have focused more exclusively on sculpture.
But since October of 2011 I have added another wrinkle to the mix. I write a weekly email journal about pioneering a creative life, called "Outside the Lines". With my wife, Peggy Sonoda, I interview people who are doing just that, and write articles about the many facets of coloring outside the lines.